The festival, whose slogan is "an international wine-tasting event like no other", is the brainchild of Gašper Čarman, Slovenia's top sommelier. After being named last year's winner of the Best Sommelier in Slovenia Competition, Čarman went on to represent the country at the World's Best Sommelier Competition in Mendoza, Argentina.

Čarman works at the Pri Danilu restaurant in Reteče (NW Slovenia), and he is also the man behind eVino, a wine bar and online wine shop. He and his business associates managed to enlist some of the most respected names in the global wine industry for the upcoming festival.

The festival, which will be held at the Cankarjev dom arts centre in Ljubljana, will feature top wineries from Tuscany, Spain, Portugal, Austria, California, and New Zealand. The following wineries have already confirmed their attendance: Château Pontet-Canet, Vega Sicilia, Giscour, Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Ornellaia, Ferrari, etc.

"I told them that I wanted to create a festival that will allow visitors to taste wines that are otherwise not available in our region. I told them who was going to participate in the event, I showed them our festival venue, and I introduced them to our organizers. What sealed the deal was that I've known them for a long time, and I was able to convince them that Top Vino is destined to become a top wine festival," said Čarman.

Thousand euros a pop
The festival will showcase 11 chateaus from Bordeaux – the viticultural equivalent of a Michelin-starred restaurant. Hence, these wines are priced accordingly: A bottle may set you back up to a thousand euros.

The festival, which will take place on October 17 from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., will also feature 30 of the best winegrowers from Slovenia.

K.S.; translated by D.V.